Keep Holding On
by The-Phanatics
Summary: What happned the night Mdme. Giry met Erik? Songfic.


Disclaimer: We do not own Phantom of the Opera or anything that has to do with it. That also includes the song.

Keep Holding On

BY: The Phanatics

Olette Édouard (this was before she met Jules) stood in the cold of night. At sixteen she felt she had committed a major crime against the law. For only a few hours ago, there was an incident at the fair which she and her friends went for kicks. Little did she know she would have to grow up so fast in one day: for in one of the main attractions, known today as 'The Devil's Child', she saw the most horrific scene of her young life! A young boy about sixteen in a cage was being beaten for a deformity on the left side of his face. She cried silently for the young boy, his misfortune and prayed that there was something she could do. But there was something she could – or actually, _had_ – to do. As the crowd let in laughter and the greedy man who had beaten the deformed child gathered what ever coins were left for him, the boy was up to something. He took the rope, formed it into a lasso, and most painfully strangled the man for his beatings of so long a time.

He gingerly picked up his stuffed monkey with cymbals, looked up, only to find Olette standing there in shock. A voice then thundered out into the world, crying, "Murderer! Murderer!" Olette quickly grabbed the nearest piece of metal to open the cage. "Follow me!" she cried. The boy took her hand and they both ran as fast as they could. As they neared the Opera Populaire, Olette spotted the nearest gate to the chapel in the Opera. She then whispered gently, "Stay here and don't make a sound." The boy nodded to this order and stayed where he was placed while Olette hid behind a wagon of hay. It was over twenty minutes later when Olette felt it was safe to see the boy. But when she returned to the little gate, she found that the boy was missing. Fear caught her eyes as she desperately looked for him then heard the sound of foot steps coming form the inside of the Chapel of the Opera. She then knew it was him

The boy was amazed at what he saw. Inside this cold stone building was…heaven. The place he was in had pictures of Angels on the walls. There were candles all about that gave him a sense of tranquility. And he knew from this point on, he was free. No more beating, no more gypsies, no more starvation for weeks on end. No, he felt as if all his pains were washed away for good. He turned around to see the girl who saved him from the gendarmes. He looked at her. She was nearly as tall as him, peaceful grey eyes that screamed with kindness, blonde hair and very petite in figure. She offered him her hand but the boy backed away quick and quivered in fear. "I won't hurt you," said Olette with politeness. He, for some reason, trusted this girl and he gave her his hand. They traveled through the darkness of the Opera Populaire. She led him to the bathroom where she scrubbed him good, though he was reluctant to remove his bag at first. Olette had some of her brother's old clothes that he gave to her before he passed as a memory of the games they played as children. Surprisingly, they fitted the boy perfectly.

The boy was shocked at the kindness that was given to him and he then asked puzzled, "Why did you save me?" Olette was shocked at this. This was the first time tonight he had spoken to her at all and yet he was shocked at her kindness? "Because you had the right to dispose of the man who did this to you and you didn't deserve to go to jail." The boy looked out to the night for a moment and banged his strong hands into the wall. "You should've let them killed me! I deserve to be dead! All I ever do is hurt people anyway, and you just brought a curse upon yourself and your friends!" He started to cry and Olette gave him his first sign of affection: a warm loving hug.

_You're not alone _

_Together we stand _

_I'll be by your side _

_You know I'll take your hand _

_When it gets cold _

_And it feels like the end _

_There's no place to go _

_You know I won't give in _

_No, I won't give in_

The boy immediately pulled away, confused once more at this girl and her ways. "What was that?" he asked her with question. What they did to him, Olette thought with sadness and pity. She looked and smiled, "That was a hug, my friend." This was the first time he was considered anyone's _friend_. But it sounded beautiful at the thought of someone was actually seeing beyond his face. What happen next was the most thrilling thing he was ever given. Olette looked at him and said to him, "That sack must be uncomfortable," she went to her closet of her room and brought out a small jeweled box with a golden key. He looked on with awe as she unlocked it and presented it to him, "here, this might make it a bit more comfortable and better." He took the gift in his hands and placed it on his face. He went to a mirror and saw himself for the first time in real clothes and on his face, a beautiful porcelain white half mask for him. The inside was lined with a soft coating of padding as soft as new hay. "Thank you," he said as he returned her hug.

Olette just smiled at the boy, but then, as he ate, a new problem arisen. Where would he sleep, how was he to eat? She couldn't just give him a place amongst the ballerinas, for they had to know of the killer on the streets by now and they didn't know much of the values of keeping a secret. But for now, he would have to reside in her room for tonight, and she could sneak him the food and water for him, right? She looked at the newer, cleaner him. He had piercing blue eyes, ebony hair, he was tall, and with that mask on, he was just so…handsome. She wanted to do all she could do for him. But in his eyes, all the sadness of the world that he knew of.

_Keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

_Just stay strong _

_Cause you know I'm here for you _

_I'm here for you _

_There's nothing you can say _

_Nothing you can do _

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth _

_So, keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through_

She gave him a pair of pajamas and said to him, "This is a bed, my friend; we sleep on them so we don't get hurt." She hoped that it didn't offend him, for he looked like he lived in that cage all his life. He lay down upon her bed and asked to her "Why are you doing this?"Olette gave him another kind smile and whispered, "I'll be back: I have to get ready for bed too." As she changed into her night gown, she couldn't help but feel a slight attraction for the boy. She let her hair down form her half up-half down hairstyle and brushed it until it was a golden cascade water fall.

He still couldn't understand why his girl was giving him all the kindness that was never given to him? Could he forgive or did he have no soul at all? I don't have one, he smiled wickedly. But may be I can gain one. This was the fist time in six years he was sheltered, and it was the first time he ever in his short life slept in a bed. And because he met this young girl, a thing of beauty as the fairy tales in those old books read by his Nanny to him described the heroines as. And he always pictured a hero in shining armor and dashingly handsome…not like him…the Devil's Child. He knew that name would always stick with him for his lifetime.

Olette returned to him like she promised and looked at him with a bit of shyness. She was in a room….with a boy…in her nightgown. Quite not like the shy, sweet, innocent Olette Édouard would usually do. But if she did, she thought she saw him turn red in his face a bit. She laughed in her thoughts and said, "How old are you?" She felt as if she shouldn't have asked that. The boy looked at her and said, "I'm about sixteen." She felt even more embarrassed because there was a boy her age in her room. She then noticed a tear go down his face.

_So far away _

_I wish you were here _

_Before it's too late _

_This could all disappear _

_Before the door's closed _

_And it comes to an end _

_With you by my side _

_I will fight and defend _

_I'll fight and defend, yeah, yeah _

She then looked at him and said, "Me too," She got up to her bed and the boy jumped out. "Its fine, we'll share a bed for tonight and you don't have to worry," she cooed. We have a long way to go, she thought as she pulled and snuggled into the covers. "Good night," she whispered. She hugged him again and fell into a deep sleep. He fell to sleep for the first time, clean, happy and content that he wouldn't have to sleep outside in the heat or cold, or the animal pen where the dung and his blood was his only warmth. He could only dream of having a life where people wouldn't be judgmental about what his face looked like.

He was always yelled, spat, and laughed at for his face…sometimes even feared for his curse. His father was never around and his mother was a drunk who threw him his first mask of clothing scarps. The only person who ever loved him was his Nanny. She was the one, who gave him his stuffed monkey with the cymbals. He felt happy that someone loved him. But when she died, his mother felt free to beat him, yelled at him and cursed at him for being who he was. He ran away when he was ten only to be caught by the gypsies and forced as to be their slave.

_Keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

_Just stay strong _

_Cause you know I'm here for you _

_I'm here for you _

_There's nothing you can say _

_Nothing you can do _

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth _

_So, keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

Olette felt trembling on her left side. It was about midnight and she turned to see the boy trembling with fear and she saw tears coming from his sad eyes. She held him and sang Latin hymns in his ears which calmed him down after six minutes or so. She rubbed his back and continued to sing to him until his dreamed was killed by the holy hymn. She hated to see him like this when she had only knew him for what…three hours? She kept singing, which came to her naturally.

He felt at piece again with a beautiful voice singing to him. Nanny, he thought at first, but then, when he awoke to look from the corner of his eye, he found that it was once again the girl who saved him tonight. The feelings of her arms around him brought him a feeling of longing for her touch. He never felt this way about a girl...especially beautiful girls. This one was bewitching him with her kindness, charm, and dare he say it, beauty. True beauty was never given or shown to him until now with… oh what was her name? She was his Angel, the one he wished would save him and he still didn't know her name.

He looked up to her and asked innocently, "What is your name?" I thought he would never ask, she thought. She spoke, "My name is Olette Édouard. I've lived her for over three years. My mother is dead and my father is at home with my little sisters. My oldest brother is dead and he is the reason why you have clothes now. Do you have a name?" The boy looked down and shook his head. "You do not have a name?" The boy looked at he rand said, "My mother thought a bastard monster like me deserves no name." Olette started to cry at the thought of an abusive mother, for this certain woman sounded like one.

_Hear me when I say _

_When I say I believe. _

_Nothing's gonna change _

_Nothing's gonna change destiny _

_Whatever's meant to be _

_Will work out perfectly _

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

_La da da da, la da da da _

_La da da da da da da da da_

"You have no name?" she asked as she hugged him once again, for the sorrowful life he had before him. He nodded a no. She looked on with sadness to this disfigured boy. He was born in darkness and he needed to get out of it. It was just too much for her to handle at all. Why would a mother do that to her child? She didn't know at this point whether it would've been better if the bitch had left him on the street to die or send him up for adoption. And for him to go nameless, friendless, and deprived of love, that just hurt her so much, but then again, it would probably kill us in the heart too. She turned to him and then asked, "Would you like a name?" The boy shot his head up, with tears of happiness in his eyes. "Would you?" he asked with pleading eyes which were begging to be humanized. She thought for a bit and said, "Erik. Erik Leroux." He couldn't believe it. He was finally given a name. One of the many things he had ever and truly wanted in his lifetime…besides a kiss form a woman.

"Thank you, Olette," he said. He hugged her and she did the same. "Just keep holding on, Erik," said Olette with love and tenderness, "and I promise things will get better." Olette then gently let go of Erik and fell back to sleep. The troubles of his survival would be worried about in the morning, for now, she wanted to sleep and enjoy the company of her new friend…and may be future lover. Erik fell to sleep, dreaming of that day where his life would take a turn for the best. Until then, he would have to wait and find out what was to happen.

_Keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

_Just stay strong _

_Cause you know I'm here for you _

_I'm here for you _

_There's nothing you can say _

_Nothing you can do _

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth _

_So, keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

_Ahh, ahh _

_Keep holding on _

_Ahh, ahh _

_Keep holding on _

_There's nothing you can say _

_Nothing you can do _

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth _

_So, keep holding on _

_Cause you know we'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

_We'll make it through _

_**A/N: Ok, this was in our documents for a while and we just want to know what you guys out there thought of it. And if you guess which movie this song is from, you get a cookie.**_


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